Do You Hear What I Hear
by LyricalKris
Summary: Edward had a lot on his plate as a broke dad trying to do right by his daughter. He wasn't looking for love. But with a child's Christmas wish and a little help from Santa and his elves, the magic of the season might reach him yet.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I think this will be three sweet chapters, hopefully done before Christmas.**

 **Thank you to my group for helping me name Edward's sweetie.**

 **Happy Holidays to all of you.**

* * *

Edward ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. Brows furrowed, he tapped another response out on his cell phone. It was, he knew, an exercise in futility. He'd been having this argument with Rosalie for the last year with no success.

A small form barreling into him at waist level distracted him from his phone. His hard expression melted into an inevitable smile at the face staring up at him. Hadley was back. His daughter cocked her head, looking at him with concern etched on her tiny, beatific face. He put his arm around her, looking up to acknowledge Jasper and Alice as they came up at a much more measured pace.

" _What's wrong_?" she signed, eyes narrowed with concern and her tiny mouth pursed. " _Why mad_?"

He had to work to keep the frown off his face. He tried his best not to let his daughter see his frequent fights with her mother. " _Not mad_." He made a point of putting on his brightest smile.

" _Yes_ ," she insisted. " _Your face_." Hadley twisted her features, furrowing her brow deep and pouting in her imitation of what his face looked like before she'd run at him.

The adults all laughed, and Edward ran his fingers down her face. " _Not mad_ ," he signed again. He pointed all around them at the bright decorations all around the mall. " _Christmas. Merry_." He looked up at Alice and Jasper. "Who could be mad at Christmas?"

His sister quirked an eyebrow at him. "Anyone who had to talk to Rosalie Hale. That's the face you always make when you're talking to her."

Edward grimaced and glanced at his daughter who had, of course, not reacted to her aunt's words. Still, Edward didn't like Alice talking like Hadley wasn't there just because she couldn't hear. "Nothing new," he said, keeping his tone even and his face free of his frustration and irritation.

Hadley tugged on his arm, looking up at him in expectation. " _Santa_?" Her eyes were wide with excitement and her mouth turned up in a grin full of teeth.

"As my princess wishes," Edward said, but he only had enough sign to say, " _Yes_ ," and offer his hand. Still, it was just as good to Hadley, she grabbed his hand, yanking in that excited way children did, and started hauling him in the direction of Santa. He pulled her to a gentle stop and pointed at Alice and Jasper. " _Say goodbye_ ," he admonished gently.

Hadley let go of him and flung herself first into her uncle's and then her aunt's arms. They got big kisses goodbye.

"Do me a favor," Jasper said, extending a hand for Edward to shake goodbye.

"What's that?" But even as he asked, Edward felt his brother-in-law press something into his hand. He grimaced, knowing right off it was a folded up bill. "Jasper."

"Get the deluxe photo package. I want a new picture for my desk." He winked at Alice. "All the girls at the office will stop by just to look at her."

Edward pressed his lips together, wanting to argue. But, he knew the deluxe photo package came with a stocking Hadley would get a kick out of. He ducked his head and nodded. "Okay."

Alice looked like she was about to give him another pep talk about not being ashamed to accept help, particularly from family. Edward picked Hadley up, propping her on his hip before his sister could start. "See you at Mom and Dad's this weekend." He turned, walking away and pointing out a window display for his daughter's amusement.

They found the line for Santa easily enough. Edward set Hadley down as they got in line. He watched the child at the front of the line run at Santa and the animated conversation that followed. He frowned, not for the first time wondering if this was the right thing to do.

The last thing Edward wanted was for Hadley to miss out on anything. She had recently turned four. This was the first year she was really aware of some Christmas traditions like Santa. But his princess was also Deaf. This experience wasn't going to be the same for her as it was for everyone else in this line.

But Hadley seemed unconcerned. She was excited as any other child, bouncing in place and talking just as animatedly, only quieter. Edward tried not to think of Hadley's mother—the biggest reason their sign conversations were so rough and rudimentary. A lot of the signs they used were made up on the spot—more of a game of Charades than an actual language. They were regulated to whatever Edward had taught himself and then taught her. He worked. A lot. Learning to sign was difficult when he fell asleep at his computer.

The upside to their slow conversations was how much standing-in-line time got eaten up, Edward reflected. Hadley asked where the reindeer were, and it took him a while to tell her a tall tale about reindeer games using only the signs they both knew and a few made up ones in between. By the time he was done, Hadley was giggling and they were at the front of the line.

Edward sent up a prayer to whomever was listening that they would get through this with a minimum amount of awkwardness and no one being a dick to his daughter.

"Ho ho ho. Who have we here? What's your name, little one?" Santa asked as Hadley clambered up onto his lap.

Hadley paid him no mind. She was used to the fact hearing people couldn't understand her anymore than she could understand them, and interacted with them only minimally. Edward was almost amused, realizing she just wanted a picture. She looked to the elf with the camera and waved animatedly.

Santa looked to Edward with a question in his soft, brown eyes. He was a skinny guy for a Santa, but that hardly mattered. "Hadley is deaf," Edward explained.

"Oh. I see. No trouble. Can she sign?" Santa asked.

Edward's eyebrows shot up, and he coughed on his surprise. "Uh. Yeah. Yes. Yes, a little."

Santa tapped on Hadley's shoulder to get her attention and signed to her. Edward's eyes stung as he watched his little girl's face light up.

This. Why couldn't Rosalie see this? Hadley was so much happier when someone spoke to her in her own language. Why couldn't she see this made her feel more normal—getting to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas in her own words like every other little girl there.

He was startled out of his moment when Hadley pointed at him. Santa glanced over and then threw his head back, laughing boisterously. He signed something Edward didn't catch at Hadley then, to his surprise, signed at one of the helper elves standing nearby—a pretty young woman Edward couldn't help but notice, with long brown hair and a beautiful smile.

The elf turned scarlet, looked quickly at Edward and away, and signed furiously at Santa. It took Edward a moment to realize the elf had a hearing aid. He only caught one word she signed at Santa: Dad.

Well, that was interesting anyway.

Shaking her head, the young elf offered her hand to Hadley, helping her down. She still blushed furiously as she walked over to Edward. She started signing in a flurry. "Whoa. Sorry." Edward sighed, and signed, " _Not good. Just learning_."

The woman's lips pursed in an o. She nodded and smiled. "Your daughter has a kind heart," she said, her words just a little bit strained in that way a deaf person's often were. She signed as she spoke. "You can pick up your pictures over there."

Their eyes met and, inexplicably, Edward's breath caught. He blinked. She stared back at him.

Hadley tugged on his hand, breaking the strange spell that had come over him. Edward sucked in a breath and looked down at his daughter. "Right. Sorry." He stepped over to the counter.

Sure enough, Hadley patted the package that included a brightly colored Christmas stocking filled with candy canes and a tiny teddy bear. Edward was grudgingly glad Jasper had given him enough to get the package. The pictures were great. Hadley's whole face was lit, her mouth wide with laughter as she looked at Santa.

"Can't you see how happy she is?" he asked Rosalie when they met in the mall parking lot about an hour later.

"Do we have to have this argument every minute of every day?" Rosalie scowled at Edward, but when she bent to kiss their daughter, she was all smiles. She knelt down to her her level took the girl's face between her hands. "Hello, beautiful girl," she said carefully and slowly, letting her get used to the shape of her lips as she spoke.

Hadley hugged her mother and then waved the stocking at her, clearly happy and excited. She started to sign, trying to tell her mother about her day, but as usual, Rosalie caught her hands. "Don't do that, Had."

"That's how she talks," Edward said for the millionth time.

"It won't always be. She's working with the speech therapist."

"But she's never going to speak the way you want her to, Rosalie. This is her language. Teach her to speak. That's fine, but don't take away her language."

Rosalie scowled as she straightened up, crossing her arms. "Who the hell is she ever going to talk to? You found two random people. You think anyone else in that mall talks with their hands?" She put her hand up, stopping whatever he was about to say. "Shut up, Edward. Look, I know you like to make it sound like I'm the wicked witch of the west. I want her to be normal. That's all."

"She is normal. There's not a damn thing wrong with her. But she's never going to be like the majority of people in that mall."

"She can. She can talk normally if she works hard. She can learn to read lips. She—" Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm taking my daughter home."

Edward was left, not for the first time, fuming and frustrated in the parking lot. He stood still for a minute, asking himself if he was too angry to drive.

"Yep," he muttered to himself. And with that, he turned around, heading back into the mall to calm down.

* * *

 **A/N: So many thanks to MyOnlyHeroin for helping me navigate this story. Thank you to Packy, Betsy, and Eleanor.**

 **Let's see if I can keep to my three chapter plan.**

 **Maybe four.**

 **Anyway.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the short length of this chapter. Fanfic's episodic nature makes it difficult to figure out the pacing sometimes. If this was a book, I'd put the first chapter and this chapter together because they end up being pretty cohesive.**

 **Anyway. Let's go.**

* * *

On second thought, heading back into the mall wasn't the best idea Edward had ever had. It took him all of three minutes to be brought up short when a flashing ad board caught his eye.

Rosalie tossed her hair, staring out at him with a come hither stare. Goddamn perfume ads never made sense. He scowled at her and flipped her the bird.

"You really don't like perfume?"

Edward whirled around, startled. He found himself face-to-face with a familiar looking woman. It took him a moment to place her. She wasn't in her jolly elf costume anymore, but her face was still somewhat garishly painted—bright red cheeks and glittering eyeshadow. She smiled at him, and he was struck once again by…

Something.

Pretty. Beautiful.

She quirked an eyebrow and made a show of looking around. "You lost something, I think."

Edward laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kind of." He sighed and gestured at the board. It was showing an ad for Cinnabon now, but he was sure the woman would understand. "That was Hadley's mother."

The elf had her head cocked, her right ear pointed toward him. She furrowed her brow, looked toward the ad, and then back to Edward. Her hands moved, and it took Edward a second to realize she was signing. Her hands moved way faster than he was used to, and none of the words came to him.

"Oh. Um." His mind wasn't used to shifting easily into translation mode. It took him a few awkward seconds to remember what little he knew. " _Sorry. S-t-i-l-l learning_ _,_ " he signed. "Remember?"

She studied him a moment, nodding slowly. "You look like you want to talk. It's loud where we are." She pointed to hear hearing aid. "Hard to hear. Harder than usual." She flashed a grin. "And I'm on lunch. Want to join me?"

He was shocked by the straightforward invitation. His lips quirked up and down, and he laughed. A thrill went down his spine. "You don't even know my name."

"You could tell me."

He laughed again. "Edward."

The pinched expression on her face told him she hadn't quite caught that, so he signed it instead. " _E-d-w-a-r-d_."

She smiled. She had a great smile. Her eyes lit with a challenging glint as she signed back. " _B-e-l-l-a_."

He found himself murmuring each letter as she signed. "Bella." He nodded. "Talking would be good."

 _ **~0~**_

Bella led him to a hot dog restaurant that was quieter than the rest of the mall. They found an unoccupied corner of the restaurant. Edward nursed a beer, wondering what the hell he was doing, complaining to this total stranger.

Maybe it was the idea she might understand, really understand, what he was struggling with. Hadley was so young—an age when every child was really learning their language. He struggled to make the people in his life understand sign language, American Sign Language or ASL specifically, was not the same as spoken English. You couldn't just translate word for word. Even if he could, his sign vocabulary was severely limited. Fighting this battle mostly alone—his family was supportive, but they were all busy people with their own lives—could get so lonely.

So, because this kind stranger asked, he found himself telling the whole story. How this had happened. How he ended up with a daughter he couldn't live without, but a baby Momma he had barely anything in common with.

He'd been a minor celebrity on his college campus. He'd hosted a student produced, late night sketch show.

"I ran in the same circle as Rosalie. You can't miss that she's hot, and she damn well knew it." He rolled his eyes.

"Yes. And you're a troll. So ugly." Bella raised a challenging eyebrow.

Edward huffed. He liked the way she looked at him—assessing. Approving. It was distracting enough that she watched his lips so intently. He understood she was filling in the gaps of what she could hear by lip reading, but it made him think of other things.

And damn. Why did she have to be eating a hot dog?

"A lot of people were trying to push us together," Edward admitted. "And that last spring break before we graduated, when a group of us went to Cabo, it worked. I don't know what it was. We didn't like each other enough to be anything. We weren't really even friends. But we were, uh… together that week."

The in between was relatively simple as these things went. Edward and Rosalie were never going to be good friends, but they were civil from the get-go.

"We were different people. I graduated with a mountain of debt. Rosalie actually got a modeling job for maternity wear because of course she did. She's always been successful, but she also comes from money." Edward passed his empty bottle between his hands. "Anyway, we were getting along okay until we found out Hadley is Deaf."

Bella pressed her mouth into a hard line. "She doesn't want a Deaf daughter, " she guessed.

"It's not…" Edward frowned. "Rosalie is who she is. It's not so much that she didn't want Hadley. She thought she couldn't have kids. She would love any child she got, and she loves Hadley. She's a good mother in most ways.

"It's just that her reality is different, or she sees reality differently than I do, anyway. She has a different truth. She can't fathom not doing anything and everything to achieve the concept of perfection." Edward shook his head, remembering an offhand comment Rosalie had made when she was pregnant. If she had to get pregnant accidentally, she was glad it was him. Not because she wanted to be attached to him for the rest of their lives, but because he was attractive and smart—two qualities she wanted her child to have in spades. "Rosalie knows that Hadley will be able to speak and read lips. To pass as normal." He spat the last word. "She just doesn't understand yet why anyone would want to embrace a flaw rather than correct it or do their best to pretend it doesn't exist. She doesn't get that it's not a flaw. Hadley is perfect the way she is. She's healthy and brilliant. She's also Deaf. There's nothing wrong with that. She _is_ normal."

Bella reached across the table, putting a gentle hand on his. He realized he'd been babbling, and that he was clenching his jaw. She smiled at him and signed something. She gave him an apologetic look and tried again, signing while she spoke this time. "I said, how dare you call me normal? We're not normal. We're extraordinary."

Edward couldn't help but grin back. His heart beat warm in his chest. His skin tingled.

He didn't even think about the next words came out. "Do you think maybe we could get a drink. Or a cup of coffee. Or dinner and a movie?"

Her brows furrowed. She cocked her head toward him and tapped her lips. "I didn't get that."

Of course she hadn't. All the words had come out in a jumble, run together and mumbled. It must have looked like, "SKjkhwqjhdh," to her. He ran his hand over his face, laughing and blushing furiously. What in the everloving hell was happening to him?

For a moment, he considered taking the out. She didn't need to know he was trying to ask her out. But then he made the mistake of looking at her again.

Getting a date used to be so easy for him.

"I said, would you be interested in going out with me? By chance. Sometime."

She laughed and ducked her head. Then, her head snapped up, and she held a hand out in a placating motion. "I'm not laughing at you. Did Hadley tell you what she asked for?"

He shook his head.

"She wants her own computer... and she wants you to marry an elf so she can visit the North Pole on holidays."

Edward stared and then he burst out laughing. "Santa tried to set you up with me, didn't he?" he asked, putting the scene from earlier together.

"Santa is my father. He likes embarrassing me."

"It's in the handbook. It's the duty of all dads with pretty daughters."

Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked at him. Their gaze held, and Edward's heart skipped a beat.

" _What d-a-t-e_?" He huffed, hating how clumsy he was. His sign vocabulary sucked, and on top of that, it was limited to what he needed to communicate with a four-year-old. Why was he making a fool of himself in front of this woman? He made his face open. Questioning. As though merely curious. Playing it cool. " _Word. Sign. For d-a-t-e_? _How sign_?"

The pink of her cheeks deepened to a red hue. "I'm off at five. Tell you then?"

He knew his grin was goofy as hell, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "I'll be there."

* * *

 **A/N: Next up! Date time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Somebody asked me if I had personal experience with this. I don't, really. When I was in high school, I had a deaf friend. His interpreter fascinated me. She told us stories about interpreting when Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the president and vice president at the time, had visited the area. Had I not been in a downward spiral of suicidal depression, I might have ended up as a sign language interpreter. But the thought stayed with me. I've read many non-fiction books on the subject. If you follow me on FB, I often share videos of interpreters, because it fascinates me how things like music and comedy need to be translated so precisely and creatively. I wrote an ofic book with a mute MC revolving around sign language.**

 **As always, so many thanks to MyOnlyHeroin who lends me her own experience and expertise so I can be as authentic as possible to the reality of the Deaf and hard of hearing.**

* * *

"Get the digits. Isn't that Dating 101?" Edward paced in the parking lot, running his hand through his hair. He scowled again, realizing he was making a mess of himself. His cheeks were probably red and raw from the bite of the evening air. The winter weather left his skin pale white and ice cold. By now, his hair had to be a disaster area.

But all of that was a moot point. He'd made this date impulsively, and since he hadn't thought to get her number to text her, he was going to have to live with the consequences.

A glance at his phone told him he was out of time. He was either going to stand her up or he was going to have to bite the bullet. With a sigh, Edward headed into the mall to swallow what little was left of his pride.

Santa's Village was located in the middle of the mall. Before, it had been crowded—a long line of happy children and tired parents, elves dotted here and there managing the crowd and ushering the kiddos onto Santa's lap. Now, there was a sign on the gate. Santa had important business to conduct in the North Pole and would be back tomorrow. He smiled, thinking again about the genuine pleasure on Hadley's little face when she figured out Santa could talk to her.

A touch to his shoulder had Edward whirling around. Bella stood there, free now of the makeup that had made her cheeks red. Her face still sparkled here and there. Edward knew from experience just how difficult it was to escape glitter. He had to smile. He'd watched too many cartoons. He'd seen this scene. The main character spun around and there she was: the girl who sparkled on the screen and all the commotion around them stopped, the world went silent.

She smiled back at him, and he wondered what she was thinking, how he looked to her. Maybe some stray glitter had found its way to his rosy red cheeks.

He sighed. " _Hello_ _,"_ he signed.

Her grin got brighter. She signed hello back.

Edward pressed his lips together. Sign language was a lot about expression. It was a language that required the whole body to express tone and intent. He didn't think he needed to try to paint his expression with regret. He hesitated a moment, unsure about what he was going to do for any number of reasons.

He'd learned some new signs while he waited for her to get off work. He launched into the monologue he'd prepared, grimacing because he knew his signs were clumsy at best.

The truth of the matter was he was broke. That's how he lived his life, it seemed—on the razor's edge of disaster. He'd always had just enough. This week, just enough had included Christmas gifts for his family and his baby. There was none left over for a proper date.

He was almost done explaining this when Bella put her hands over his. He realized he'd broken eye contact at some point—a definite no no.

When he looked up, he saw her smile was gentle. His stomach twisted. He didn't want her pity. She signed something, and he furrowed his brow. She grinned. "You've been practicing," she said.

He sighed and nodded. "Seemed like the least I could do."

"It was a good try, but no dice."

"What?" Confused as he was, he couldn't help his smile. Her grin had turned mischievous.

"You're not getting out of our date." She tilted her head. "I'll get this one."

He frowned. "I asked. I should—"

She took his hand. "Don't overthink it. I'm broke too. We'll make it work. Besides, it means you'll work harder to earn a second date." She winked.

Charmed as he was, he also wanted to argue. This couldn't be right. But the lights overhead caught the glitter on her cheeks, and he couldn't do anything but agree.

"Look." She pointed with her chin. "A walk by the starlight."

He glanced up to find this section of the mall was indeed decorated with ornate stars made of twinkle lights. Bella gave his hand a light tug.

They didn't stroll far. Like most malls, this one had places for tired shoppers, or the people they dragged along, to sit and relax. In this particular mid-spot, there were a couple of couches but also two rows of massage chairs facing each other. Bella picked up the pace, pulling him with her toward the chairs. She took him by the arms and, much to his amusement, manhandled him down into one. "It's been a long day," she said as she fed quarters into his chair.

Done with that, she took the chair across from him, settling in for her own massage. She waved cheerily at him but didn't say anything. With the mild chaos all around them, they couldn't have had a decent conversation even if she could hear.

Edward pressed his lips together, noting the way she was watching him. This would be the small talk, getting-to-know you portion of the date under any other circumstance. He thought she might be teasing him because she had the advantage here. If they tried to talk over the hullabaloo, she could read his lips while he'd likely be stuck yelling, "what?" over and over again.

Or was this a challenge?

Either way, Edward wasn't about to waste the time he had. His rudimentary sign could go far in this situation. " _How old you_?"

Her eyes lit up with delight. She flashed a sign. Edward blinked and felt like a tool. He'd been expecting her to hold up two fingers and then whatever the second digit was. Of course each number had its own sign.

Bella caught on quickly. She tried again, this time using the symbols Edward had expected. " _2-4. You?"_

"2-7." He paused, then made his brow furrow with a questioning look. " _Sign_?"

" _2-7. Twenty-seven_ ," she signed and mouthed the words. " _Twenty-four me_."

He dutifully repeated both signs several times over, committing them to memory. Then, putting aside his self-consciousness, he pressed on. " _School you_ _?_ "

The massage had long run out of their chairs by the time they'd collected a fair amount of information about each other. Bella was a grad student studying child psychology—providers who could sign were few and far between. Her favorite color was brown, and she liked apples. If she was exasperated at his four-year-old vocabulary, she didn't show it. She was animated, a smile ever playing on her lips.

Apropos of nothing, Bella hopped up. She took his hand and pulled him to his feet. Again, they didn't go far. They only went to one of the kiosks that lined the walkway of the mall. Bella grabbed one of the brightly colored balls and squeezed it with a gleeful look on her face.

"Ew," Edward said, but he laughed. The ball had turned into a mass of green, pustule-like smaller balls, looking like it was all about to pop and ooze putrid liquid all over the place.

Before the attendant could come make his sales pitch, Bella pulled Edward away. They walked hand-in-hand for a small distance before Bella picked up the leash of a toy dog that really walked and barked. She pretended to walk it, shuffling forward one inch at a time as though it was the way she always moved.

"I wanted one of these so badly when I was little," she said as she put the dog back.

By then, Edward had caught on to the game they were playing. He pulled them over to a hat kiosk. They spent several minutes trying to find the most ridiculous hats possible. Edward put on an outrageously tall Cat in the Hat hat, and Bella put on a Santa hat complete with beard.

"Looks better on you than your dad," Edward teased.

He snatched a top hat from a display of bizarre hats. He stepped toward the kiosk next to it and waved his hands as though he were a magician, magically moving the colorful kaleidoscope wind spinners.

"Magic," Bella said. She brought her hands up, fingers held together and then spread them quickly apart as though in a poof of smoke. " _Magic_."

" _Magic_ _,"_ he repeated, looking into her eyes. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, pleased when her cheeks flushed pink. With his free hand, he transferred the top hat from his head to hers, and adjusted the brim so it was tilted on her head.

After they returned the hat to its place, they walked on. Bella told him a hilarious story of her first grade class, most of them Deaf or hard of hearing, found out together the hard way that their farts made noise on the way out. He told her that when he was five, he used to go to the park with his mother because they loved the chipmunks.

"Mom got in a little trouble when other parents and their kids were nearby. See, I was pronouncing it shitmunks." He leaned in closer to be sure she heard the nuance.

She giggled. The sound triggered another memory, and he told her another story from his childhood. He and his sister liked to share a bed for a brief time when they were both young so they could whisper at night after lights out. He had the clear memory of lying under the blankets, both of them whispering swear words and giggling their fool heads off at their own naughtiness.

"Did you learn how to swear in sign?" Bella asked.

"What?" He had no idea why the question caught him off guard.

"That's the first thing whenever you learn a new language, right? You learn to swear."

"I learn sign language to teach my four-year-old." He smirked.

She tilted her head, giving him an admonishing look. "Why should Hadley miss out on learning the dirty words just because she can't hear and doesn't have an older sister?" She wagged her eyebrows so he knew she was kidding. "But if you're going to hang out with me, you should know I swear a lot."

"That's not very elf-like behavior."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and signed something.

"What was that?" he asked, thinking he'd recognized the word 'eat.'

"Eat a dick," she said cheerfully, a touch too loud.

Edward looked around, suddenly knowing how his mom must have felt at the playground all those years ago. He had to laugh though. " _Eat a dick_ ," he signed back at her, feeling just as hilariously naughty as he had when he was a small child.

"Not on the first date," Bella said out loud, her smile innocent.

Edward choked on air. "I didn't...I mean…" He huffed as she laughed. " _Mean_ ," he signed. " _Rude_."

She led him to the Mrs. Fields, bought them a bag of nibblers—bite-sized cookies—and two glasses of milk. They sat at a small table in front of the shop, and she taught him how to sign bad words. Bullshit was by far his favorite—making the horns of a bull with one hand while flexing the fingers of your other hand near your elbow to indicate the shit coming out.

"Remember your face. Expressions are how we tell tone. Expression is how we know if you're kidding or you're really mad. And emphasis." She signed, " _bullshit_ _,"_ again but so emphatically that her hands slapped skin audibly.

And that was how Edward, a grown man, found himself swearing furiously with his hands, cackling as he and Bella made increasingly emphatic faces and gestures at each other.

"How does it work for deaf kids?" Edward asked as they moved on. "You wouldn't wash your mouth out with soap. Would you just have to wash your hands?"

"Dunno. My dad thinks it's dumb to call some words bad when they're not slurs."

"Good point."

Bella stopped and looked at him. "We're here."

Edward realized then they'd made it to the center of the mall. They were now looking down three stories at the ice rink with a tall, grand Christmas tree at its center. His grin fell. "Ice skating?"

"Have you ever been?"

"Uh...no."

Her whole face lit up. "Even better."

He sighed. He looked a mess. He was broke, and now she wanted him to make a fool of himself.

She sobered and clasped his hand in both of hers, looking right into his eyes. "Don't be afraid. I won't let you fall."

Looking at her slight form, he wondered what the hell she thought she was going to do about it if he did fall. But there was no way he was going to deny her the pleasure.

Some minutes later, he found himself inching onto the ice. Bella was in front of him, inching backward with her hands bracing him at the elbow. "You got this. You're okay," she murmured almost under her breath.

Edward huffed. His heart was pounding out of control, spiking when his feet slid forward a fraction of an inch more than he'd intended. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see people were casting bemused looks their way, but he couldn't really care. He tried to reach for the rail, but Bella held him fast.

"I got you," she said, looking up from his feet into his eyes.

"Yeah." He was breathless, but somehow her words soothed him.

Since she was watching his feet and the rink was noisy, Bella didn't talk as they skated ever so slightly forward. He began singing quietly under his breath—a nervous tick.

She'd told him before they started to resist watching his feet, so he was concentrating on a point somewhere on the second floor as he tried to find his center of balance. He was startled when Bella spoke. "Are they playing Christmas carols?"

Edward looked at her to find she was watching his lips again even as she kept them moving: him forward and her backward, the show off. "Uh, yes. Of course."

"You're singing _Do You Hear What I Hear_." She grinned. "My favorite."

"Why?"

He almost didn't notice that her careful strides backward got ever so slightly longer. Her eyes were still steady on him as she spoke. "When I was in third grade, my class learned that song." Her grin stretched ear to ear. "When we got to the line, 'do you hear what I hear,' everyone cracked up. Because we didn't. We didn't hear what our teacher did."

"Ah, I see what you did there. Clever kids." He chuckled, touched by the story. How great it must have been for her to grow up with kids who shared her reality. And he couldn't help but feel special that she was sharing that with him.

"We were very puny." Bella skated backward deliberately now, bringing him with her. He clutched at her. She let go of one of his hands and moved so she was skating next to him instead of in front of him. She pulled them to the edge of the skaters moving round and round the Christmas tree.

Another minute went by, and Edward relaxed. He tried an experimental slide and glanced at Bella. She pumped her fist in the air as though he were a skating champion instead of a skating newbie. He pushed himself to go just a little faster.

"Gotta crawl before you walk," she called. They were still joined at the hand, but he'd pulled ahead of her now.

"I didn't crawl. I skipped straight to walking," he said.

When she didn't answer, he realized his mistake. He was faced away from her. He tried to slow down and turn toward her, forgetting that he didn't really know how to stop. He slid out of control. She lunged for him, only managing to get herself caught in his downward spiral. They ended up on their asses in a heap, both laughing.

He sat up first and offered his hand. She took it, and when he pulled her into a sitting position, he found she was so close to him. His head swam. Her face was positioned just right—her chin tilted up, her eyes bright. She was so beautiful.

Before he could overthink what he was doing and where he was, Edward tilted his head down. He heard the quick intake of her breath, and then her lips were on his. The ice was cold, chilling him to the bone, but her lips moving with his charged the air. He was warm. All the way down to the marrow of his bones, he was on fire.

And damn if it wasn't the sweetest burn.

* * *

 **A/N: One more chappy after this. But in case I don't get to it on time for it to be a Christmas present, Happy Holidays to you and yours.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this is a couple days late!**

* * *

Edward got out of the car and headed toward the mall at a quick pace. If he hurried, he could catch Bella at the tail end of her break. Oh, he could have texted her, but he wanted to see her, to touch her. Maybe get another of her sweet kisses. Though, while she was at work, probably not. Were elves supposed to have human boyfriends?

Sure enough, as he came up on Santa's Village, Bella and the other elves were straightening up—sweeping and getting ready for Santa to reappear. Edward waved, catching Bella's attention. He was rewarded by a big grin. She came over to the sale's counter in the guise of straightening things there. "Hey, you."

Edward leaned across the counter, grinning at Bella. "I have good news." He signed the last two words, getting in the habit of signing and speaking as she'd suggested. "My company gave us all an unexpected Christmas bonus. I'm taking you on a date."

Her eyes danced. She folded her arms on the counter, leaning in so they were almost nose to nose. "That's great. What kind of date are we talking here? Should I wear a silky dress?"

"Ooh. That could be interesting." He stood up straight, taking the voucher he'd been given out of his pocket. He unrolled it, holding it between both his hands, and gave it a little snap. "See that? Twenty-five whole dollars to Ralph's grocery store. I could almost retire on that generous bonus, but instead, you and I are going to paint the town red." He smirked. "So? Can I cook you dinner?" He cleared his throat. "At my place?"

"Ho. Ho. Ho," came a big booming voice. Edward jumped and took a step backward as Santa leaned on the counter next to Bella. "What do we have here?"

"Uh." Edward blinked, remembering belatedly that under the wig, Santa was also Bella's father, and they hadn't actually been introduced yet. The little boy in Edward was disconcerted to find himself on the receiving end of a Santa stink-eye.

Bella grimaced and tapped her father on the shoulder. She signed something to him in a flurry, her face reflecting sarcasm. Santa signed back. Bella gestured to the children waiting for him to come off break. Santa huffed. He cast a look at Edward and pointed in his face. "Just remember. Santa sees all."

Hands on her hips, Bella watched her father retreat. She turned back to Edward and grinned. "He said he didn't mean it when he told me to give you my number. He was just teasing. I told him the joke was on him, because now you're taking me home to ply me with liquor and food."

"Oh, jeez." Edward slapped a hand over his eyes. She was so blunt. "I'm not even going to have a chance with him, woman."

The thought should have scared him for different reasons. They'd only been on two dates, and he was already talking as though the meet-the-parents event was inevitable. It was presumptuous to the say the least.

But Bella's smile was wide and easy. "I'm the only one you have to impress, stud." She winked and then looked over her shoulder. "Gotta go. See you in a few hours?"

"I'll be there."

 _ **~0~**_

It felt very domestic to enter a grocery store hand in hand with a woman. He was out of the loop in the dating world. Did he have a girlfriend now?

Life. What the hell?

Edward was so distracted, he hadn't even noticed he'd let Bella lead him until she pulled to a stop. He looked around, confused to find they were in the freezer section. "What are we doing here?"

"I thought by cook you meant you were going to toss a one pan meal in the oven." Bella fixed him with her best bratty smile. "In case you don't know, lasagna takes three and a half hours. I've made that mistake before." Her grin turned seductive, and she put a hand to his chest. "Though we could probably figure out a way to pass the time."

Edward pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, shifting because his pants were just a little bit tighter. His brain grinded to a halt for one, two, three seconds before he shook his head hard, remembering what he'd come here to do. "I can cook. You know, for real." For good measure, he signed, " _Can cook me_."

Bella grinned and swept her arm wide. "What's on the menu?"

That was a question. Being a part-time single dad, he had any number of quick, cheap meals in his repertoire. Tonight, though, was a time for simple and elegant.

And cheap.

Squeezing her hand, he led them out of the frozen meals section. They wandered through the store picking up what he needed. Bella amused him with stories about how she'd been obsessed with baking shows lately and between that and her Pinterest board, she'd gone on a rash of baking cute and fancy desserts.

"My Cookie Monster cupcakes were so disturbing," she said with a rueful sigh.

"But did they taste good? That's the most important part." His lip twitched. "Hadley and I were decorating Christmas cookies. Her uncle was teasing me because mine were awful. Hadley told him no dessert." He signed the last two words, imitating the face Hadley had made at Jasper when she realized he was making fun of her daddy. "I guess in her book, if you can't be nice, you shouldn't get to eat the goodies."

"Good plan."

A few minutes later, they left the grocery store, Edward's generous bonus spent on the fixings of chicken carbonara pasta, a side salad, a crusty loaf of French bread that was going to be turned into garlic bread, and two individual cupcakes. Luckily, he had most of the ingredients and a bottle of red wine— _thank you after all, Alice_ —at home.

It was slightly awkward. By then, Edward was used to reminding himself to look at Bella when they talked. She perched on the kitchen barstool, telling him stories about the kids she'd interacted with today, and when he answered, he would look up at her. That was a bit of a problem when he wielding a sharp knife. He kept looking up as he was trying to chop bacon and mushrooms.

He nicked his finger the third time he did it, and Bella leapt to her feet, crossing around the small counter to him. She took his hand, examining it. Edward was startled to find her so close. He breathed in the scent of her, and when she tilted her head up to look at him, a rush of warmth and want washed over him. The only thing that kept him from kissing her then was her furrowed brow. The concern on her face seemed incongruous with what he wanted to do just then.

"Your apartment is quiet," she said.

He blinked. "What?"

The serious expression faltered ever so slightly as the corner of her mouth quirked. "I can hear you okay if you speak loudly and clearly." She raised his fingers to her mouth and kissed the tender skin. "If you cut your finger off, who's going to feed me while you have to go to the ER?"

He smiled and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. "I'll be more careful."

Dinner was made and on the table without any further bloodshed. They ate, and Edward told her stories about his family—growing up with Alice for a sister was an endless source of material. He tried not to get mesmerized by the motion of Bella twirling pasta around her fork and bringing it to her lips and tried not to think about how Alice would love Bella.

They poured their last glasses of wine and sat side by side on the couch to eat their desserts—red velvet and cream cheese for her, strawberry with colorful sugar on whipped frosting for him. The only light in the room were from the soft, white twinkle lights on the small, squat tree in the corner. Bella grinned, watching him lick the rainbow sugar off the toצp.

"I was trying to be all mature and sophisticated when we were choosing our cupcakes at the store," Bella said. "But yours looks like more fun."

He offered her a forkful—they were eating with forks to be more fancy about it. "Want a taste?"

Her eyes sparkled, and she cupped a hand around the back of his neck. "I want to taste it from here."

She tilted her head up, claiming his lips. Edward sighed, letting his mouth open at the press of her tongue. "Mmm. Yummy," she said, the word vibrating on his lips. The gravely sound of it, the taste of cream cheese frosting mixed with the bite of red wine, and the feel of her fingers in his hair—it was all so delicious and erotic.

Bella moved, first kneeling on the couch, towering over him as their kiss got more voracious, and then straddling him. Edward moaned at the feel of her on his lap. He rested his hands first at her waist, holding her to him. When she bucked her hips, grinding on his cock, he whimpered into her mouth and let his hands drift down to cup her ass. He loved the feel of her. He writhed, the urge to devour her, to feel as much of her as possible, overtaking him. He moved his hands up to her back, traced a finger over her spine.

Slowly, he moved upward until his fingers snaked up along her scalp, tangling in soft hair. His head was cloudy, heavy and heated with lust.

Just as he started to twist, intent on laying her back so he could press every inch of his body along hers, a loud, angry squeal sounded in the otherwise quiet room. Edward jumped. Bella did too. They flew apart so quickly, Bella almost fell off his lap. Her arms tightened around his neck and he moved his hands to grip firmly before she tumbled backward.

Bella laughed first. "My hearing aids," she explained.

"Oh." He must have pressed one of them when he cupped her face in his hands. He laughed too, his heart hammering. "I thought it was a Santa alarm." He reached up and brushed her hair back tenderly. "We were working our way toward the naughty list."

"Yeah, but it was so nice." She leaned forward, her hands warm on his face. "Don't talk about my father when I'm trying to get it on with you."

Edward's cock jumped in his pants, very happy to hear they were on the same page about where this was going. "Oh, hell. We're getting coal for Christmas."

She smiled and kissed his lips in a chaste, sweet gesture. She straightened up again, a rare, shy look coming over her. Her eyes on hers, looking like she was fighting uncertainty, she reached up to remove her hearing aids. Her purse rested nearby, and she set them down.

He smiled back at her, thinking that for all her bravado, it still took a little bit of courage to do something like that. It shouldn't, but the world was what it was. It was different for him, but not awkward, and definitely not bad. It did raise a few questions. He didn't know how good her hearing was without her hearing aids. There were so many things he wanted to tell her; sweet nothings to whisper in her ear.

Would she know that this thing between them was beautiful and rare? Would she know that this felt serious to him?

He would have to show her instead.

Holding her gaze, he cupped her face in his hands again. He stroked his thumbs behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her. This time, their kiss was gentle—slow and heated as a simmer. She kissed him back, rocking on his lap to a slow, steady beat only she could hear.

He drew his hands down her back and cupped her ass again. Assuring he had a good grip, he stood. She wrapped her legs around him, never breaking their kiss. Edward had never been more glad that his apartment was so small. His room was close, and he had her where he wanted her in seconds. He set her on his bed and climbed over her. He held himself above her, just watching her and smiling because she was so beautiful. He ducked, dropping teasing kisses on her face. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she laughed, shy and giddy as he felt.

He hissed when she touched his belly under his shirt. The skin was so sensitive, and his every nerve was already singing.

Bella was used to speaking with her body. It was evident in the way she moved with him. Her hands were magic—strong and soft all at once. And just like when she was teaching him how to speak her language, she didn't hesitate to guide his hands.

They didn't need words to speak to each other.

 _ **~0~**_

She woke him the first time.

When he'd drifted off, she'd been draped haphazardly over his chest, her skin hot against his and her hair tickling his skin. He woke to the feel of his cock enveloped in slick heat and the incredible sight of her head bobbing as her tongue worked along his length.

The second time, he woke her. He'd awaken to a room glowing in the semi-darkness of dawn, and the sight of her in his bed, one arm thrown up over her head and one perky tit peeking out above the line of the blanket, had knocked all the breath out of him. He'd kissed her lips, her cheeks, her chin. By the time he got to her chest her hands were tangled in his hair.

Hours passed. He rose, disentangling himself from her carefully so as not to wake her. He'd only been in the shower a minute when she ambled in, eyes half-hooded with sleep and naked as the day she was born. She got in the shower with him without a word and massaged shampoo into his hair as she kissed him.

It was afternoon and they still hadn't managed to make it very far from the bed. They'd made it as far as the kitchen a couple of times for water and the bag of pizza rolls Edward had in his freezer. Then they'd shared pizza-flavored kisses and one thing led to another again.

Edward was sore and more unbearably happy than he'd been in a long time. He hummed to himself as he stroked his fingers up and down her back.

Bella pushed herself up on one arm. She cocked her head as she looked down on him. "Can I tell you something?"

He nodded, reaching up to trace his finger along the shape of her lips. She smiled, catching his wrist and kissing his fingertip.

"You were my Christmas wish."

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

Her smile was soft. She sat up all the way, unabashed about her nudity. She splayed her hand wide on his chest. "When I took the job as an elf and saw all the kids asking Santa for what they wanted? When the parents winked or nodded and I knew the kids would get what they want? I asked Santa for what I wanted." She rolled her eyes. "Not my dad. The real Santa."

"Oh, the real one." Edward grinned, and Bella waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah. I said, don't worry about the job I want, the money, the things. I got that all covered." She traced nonsensical patterns on his chest. "But it would be nice to have someone to share it with—all the successes that are in my future?" She sighed, her voice quiet. "Someone who understands."

She wasn't looking at him, and her cheeks were pink—another vulnerable chink in her tough-as-nails armor. He raised a hand to cup her chin, gently tilting her head up until she brought her eyes to his. "If I'd known Santa was real, I'd have wished for you too."

Her grin was blinding. She leaned down to kiss him. A hard, serious kind of kiss, because Edward had discovered an old cliche was nothing but truth.

When you know, you know. He knew. She knew.

"I want to help you," she said a little later when they were discussing whether or not Hadley would recognize her as the elf from Santa's Village when they were formerly introduced. "Her mother… Most parents come along to an extent. With time. Even if she never learns sign, she'll bend when it comes to Hadley, I think. She'll figure out Hadley can have both—speech and sign. Maybe even let her go to a school like I went to, with kids who spoke my language.

"But until then, I can help. I can teach her." She took Edwards hand, bending his fingers carefully. "And you."

Edward's eyes stung at the idea. It was such a tremendous weight off his shoulders. He couldn't even begin to find the words. What a beautiful image she painted, a future he didn't know he could have until it appeared like a nicely wrapped gift under his Christmas tree. He didn't have words, so he spoke with his free hand, cupping her cheek.

She lifted his other hand, and he saw that she had bent his fingers to form a sign he'd known for a long time—thumb out, pointer and pinky up. A sign he'd only ever used with his daughter.

I love you.

"I do," he mouthed the words, realizing with a start how true they were.

Bella bit her bottom lip, but her grin couldn't be contained. She let him pull her down on top of him and got back to the task of creating their own language together.

 _ **~The End~**_

 **A/N: Short and sweet.**

 **Many thanks to Packy, Eleanor, and Betsy for all their help. And so many thanks to MyOnlyHeroin for sharing her experiences and making sure I stay true to the experience of real life Deaf and HoH persons.**

 **I hope you had a good holiday season. If you didn't, I hope the new year brings brighter days. You and your kind words are a gift to me all year long, and I hope you enjoyed this little story.**


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